MOTIVATION TO EXERCISE

I’ve decided to start a new category on my blog, which will be dedicated to fitness and covering topics including nutrition and health. Aside from fashion, I have a strong passion for fitness. For those of you who know me personally know that I’ve been into health and fitness since college and really even before that. My interest in nutrition has definitely grown within the past few years and I thought I had to choose between fitness and fashion for my blog. However, I’ve decided to use my blog as a lifestyle platform so I can talk about both!

I workout for a minimum of one hour every morning, specifically weight lifting. I’ll have another post dedicated to that in the future as I know a few misconceptions among women include the fear of gaining weight with weight lifting and feeling intimidated at the gym, but today’s post will be an introduction to the idea of exercise. People always ask me how I find the motivation to workout in the morning because exercise is normally the last thing you want to do once you wake up. I don’t think the time of day really matters to be honest. Personally, I’m a morning person and I prefer to workout before I go to work, but I know waking up early and working out isn’t for everybody, so just find a time that suits your schedule. And here are the top 5 things that keep me motivated and on track:

1. HAVING A GOAL: You must begin with a goal! At at the end of the day, if you have no interest in fitness or don’t see any benefits with exercise then you’re simply not going to do it. It starts with a desire to achieve something in the end, so you need to have a goal in order to start. It can be anything from losing fat, losing weight, gaining muscle, feeling stronger, etc. Just know why you want to get fit and keep going back to that goal throughout your fitness journey.
2. CREATING A PLAN: For beginners, I would say maybe workout 2-3x a week. Look at your schedule and see where you can squeeze in a quick 30 minute gym or workout session. You don’t have to workout for a long time and you don’t have to workout everyday like I do. Start out small and then you can gradually increase. Feel free to do any type of exercise whether that’s taking an afternoon jog, a yoga class or even an at home workout from a YouTube video. I can’t stress this enough, but if you don’t have a plan, your workout will most likely suffer. So bottom line is that you should prepare and plan ahead and everything else should follow.
3. CONSISTENCY: This step is crucial after you’ve created and fine tuned your workout plan and schedule! You should be consistent with your workout regime and keep at it. Sure, it will be challenging at first, but you have to get through the first few weeks to make it a habit. Once you find what works for you, stick with it and take it one day at a time. Once you miss a session, then you’ll most likely fall off the wagon so be consistent and trust in yourself and trust in the process.
4. SEEING RESULTS: Exercise is only part of the equation so you must remember that you also need to eat healthy, but if you are eating and exercising consistency then I promise you’ll see results! There’s nothing more motivating then seeing your body change physically and mentally. And once you start losing weight, seeing more definition and feeling better, then you’re going to want to keep going.
5. LIFESTYLE CHOICE: This should be your end result after you’ve been working out for a while and seeing results. I love working out and I continue to do so because it’s now part of my lifestyle. I don’t find it a hassle to fit exercise into my life because I choose to incorporate it. I would be lying if I said I’m always in the mood to workout because I’m not. I’m human and I get exhausted and sometimes I want to miss a gym session, but I still go because I have a goal in mind, I have a plan in place and I want to be consistent in my schedule so I can see the results.

I hope these 5 tips will get you motivated to work out! Remember to be patient and make short term goals so you can take it day in and day out. Stay tuned for more fitness and health related articles!